James Bercovici - The Big Red Wine Company

To say that 2003 was a hot vintage in France is something of an understatement. It was the year of the heatwave, the summer that, when I holidayed with my grandmother in France, was so hot we had to lift her into the pool to keep her cool. Days were 43 degrees; night temperatures were not much lower. When the wines were released, there was much hype but, realistically, only a handful have made it to ten years. Most producers have long advised that their wines be drunk up and my Brussets, for example, are long gone (with every bottle enjoyed, it must be said). Most Chateauneufs will not be at their best now either. Why is this? Quite simply, the summer was too intense. Instead of the normal 100 days between flowering and harvesting, only 70 were needed to ripen the fruit. However, the tannins lagged behind and acidities were low (although alcohol was, inevitably high) so, whereas in their youth the wines were fully flavoured with plenty of ripe fruits, the structural elements were a...

Andrew Jefford, so often a champion of the underdog asks if, with the wave of interest in Burgundy and the current problems the region faces because of atrocious weather, it is time for the region's eternal bridesmaid to step out of the shadows.  His report focuses on the five villages, from north to south: Bouzeron, Rully, Mercurey, Givry and Montagny, advising readers what to expect, broadly, before listing recommended producers from each.  Of course, for me interest is enhanced by his particular recommendation of Domaine Joblot 's 2010 "Clos du Cellier aux Moines", a Premier Cru from Givry which he describes as: "Precise, fresh scents of mingled red and black cherries with poised and vivacious fruit flavours which warm, fill and fatten on the palate." Andrew told me he had made two short research trips to the Cote Chalonnaise in the last nine months, and that he intended to write the region up for the second of his "Jancis stand-in" ...

Even after 15 years in the wine trade, and even having eschewed most wines from the New World (and many parts of the Old World) in commercial terms, there is still much to learn, it seems. Recent dabbling with Italian wines should have been enough to forewarn me that I really know next to nothing about wine. I reassure myself that, with very few exceptions, few do. This was highlisghted to me when, having received some samples of Refosco from the producer of our new Prosecco (unsurprisingly a great success this summer), Grandi e Gabana, I posted a query on Wine-Pages to ask what I should expect from this grape. This forum is made up of enthusiasts who, in many cases, like to try virtually every style of wine imaginable. Only seven people seemed to have any experience whatsoever of the grape. Why is this? It's an easy name to pronounce, after all - pronunciation is all important to the English consumer after all (and, perhaps, to residents elsewhere in the British Isles but the ...

When Tom Cannavan of wine-pages.com released his reviews of Cahors wines earlier this year, I was not at all surprised by the glowing reports of the wines from Chateau du Cedre  (see Tom's full report on Cedre  here ) but, on reading his take on Haut-Monplaisir 's 2009 Pur Plaisir (see here for Tom's report on Cahors), thought he must have tried an altogether different wine. I contacted Tom and suggested I send another bottle for him to try and, at the same time, a bottle of Nada Giuseppe 's 2007 Barbaresco Riserva (the 2006 had been discussed excitedly by forumites but it had all gone). Today I discovered that Tom had reviewed the wines and clearly liked them, especially the Nada Giuseppe which he awards 91 points with the following note: "This has a lovely nose, the tar and roses of maturing Nebbiolo is there, with a crisp-edged, juiciness to the red and black fruit, a touch of something charcoally, and a layer of toast and charriness beneath. On the palate ...

Rifling through my racks for something tonight, I stumbled across a rather larger stash of Raymond Usseglio 's 2009 Chateauneuf-du-Pape . I don't recall buying quite so many for myself and can't find my original TN so can only assume I thought extremely highly of it at the time. Of course, the website entry for this wine was probably based on the TN so it looks like I did. On opening, the nose is youthful but not harsh, a good sign. The fruit is foremost: quite deep, liquorish and liqueur-ish. On the palate the mouthfeel is an instant hit, coating the inside of my cheeks with just enough glycerine to subdue the tannins but beyond the fruit there is an explosion of spices. Wow! This is a development which, not altogether unforeseen, was not something I had been expecting to such a degree. The flavours really need to knit together for me but there is so much going on here that this is an exciting prospect. One more thing: after the first slurp, I went off to attend to som...

The results of the 2013 Decanter World Wine Awards are out today - the usual nonsense, of course, as it all depends on entering in the first place. I have never been a fan of these catch-all competitions; actually, I'm not sure about any wine competitions. That said, it's always nice to win so congratulations to Chateau de Jurque for its Regional Trophy (I must re-stock with this vintage!) Otherwise, in the Southern Rhone, Domaine Brusset picked up three gongs for the two red Cairannes and "Les Hauts" from 2011 as did Domaine des Anges for its 2012 Blanc, 2010 Ventoux Rouge and "L'Archange", and  Domaine des Bernardins for its sweet Muscats but it looks like no-one else thought the cost of entering their wines worthwhile. In the South-West,  Chateau de Jurque  collected four medals (so that's the whole range then) and Chateau du Cedre one for its 2010 (I didn't even know it had been bottled yet!), Chateau Lamartine two including one for...

I had billed this as a tasting of wines for the summer so it was inevitable that it would be raining although only half an hour before the start we were still thinking about having the tasting outside! This was an opportunity to show some new wines and some old favourites too. New wines included both the Prosecco and Pinot Grigio from Grandi e Gabana , the former proving one of the most popular wines of the tasting. Other popular whites included new vintages from Domaine des Anges and Domaine Brusset 's Cairanne "Les Travers" (both 2012) and the ever-popular Domaine des Malandes Chablis. The most controversial white was Serradenari 's "Mone" which some wondered what they would pair it with - I suggested they could simply enjoy it on its own. I was pleased with the success of the Saria Barbera "Convento". One taster, a self-confessed fan of Bordeaux and South-West France, couldn't work around the inevitable acidity but most loved the fr...